Lawn or house swing.



No. 678,349. Patented July 9, I90l. I I O. R. OLSON.

LAWN OR HOUSE SWING.

(Application filed Jan. 19, 1901.)

(No Model.)

UNITED j STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OLOF R. OLSON, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN W. OLSON, OF SAME PLACE.

LAWN OR HOUSE SWING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 678,349, dated July 9, 1901. Application filed January 19 1901. Serial No. 43,910. (No model.)

To on whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OLOF R. OLSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, Jackson county, Missouri, have invented a new and useful Lawn or House Swing, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to lawn or house swings, and more particularly to that class in which the standards as well as the swing-bars move for the purpose of imparting to the seat a greater throw than would otherwise be possible with swing-bars of the length employed, my present invention being designed especially as an improvement over the analogous structure on which I filed application for patout October 4:, 1900, and which is serially numbered 31,970.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a structure completely ope'n'abov'e the seat in order that such space may be left clear for the occupant and to permit the structure to be diminutive in height as compared with an ordinary swing having the same scope of movement.

A further object is to provide a swing in which chance of injury Will be practically eliminated and which while possessing the desirable features of simplicity, strength, and durability is of compact and cheap construction.

To these ends the invention consists in certain noveland peculiar features of construction and 7 organization, as hereinafter described and claimed,'and in order that it may be fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a swing embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a view, on a larger scale, taken on the line III III of Fig. 1, but at the opposite side of said figure. Fig. 4 is a verticalsection taken on the line IV IV of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on the line V of Fig. 2.

In the drawings the base of the swing is shown in skeletonform 'and may be so constructed practically or may be provided with afloor or platform. (Not shown.) As shown, it comprises the parallel base-bars 1 1, connected by rock-shafts or rods 2 2 journaled in suitable bearings, as at 3, to sai base-bars,

and provided at their ends with elbows 4, in which are mounted the uprights or standards 5, also of tubular construction by preference. These standards have mounted upon their upper ends tubular castings 6, the preferred mode of securing the castings in place being hereinafter explained. The castings are provided at or near their lower ends and inner sides with hinge-disks 7, provided with inwardly-projecting bosses S and circular ribs 9, the latter concentrically surrounding but not projecting inward as far as the bosses. Companion hinge-disks 10 are provided with central holes 11 and circular grooves 12, concentrically surrounding said holes at the inner sides of said disks, and these disks in conjunction with disks 7, upon which the former are fitted, their holes and grooves respectively embracing the bosses 8 and ribs 9, constitute hinges by which ones hand cannot be pinched or otherwise injured, which hinges are connected longitudinally in pairs by frames 13, preferably arched, as shown, theends of said frames fitting snugly between horizontal ribs formed on the inner sides of disks 10 and perforated, as at 15, to pivotally embrace the projecting ends of the said bosses, Washers 16 hearing against said bosses, and the inner sides of said frames being utilized to secure the latter in the position described through the medium of the screw-bolts 17 passing through said washers into said bosses,

as shown clearly in Figs. 3 and 4:.

18 designates the swing-bars, of which there are preferably four, arranged transversely in pairs, the upper ends of said bars being fitted in castings 19 and secured there to in a manner whichv hereinafter appears. At their upper ends the castings are formed with hinge-disks 20, centrally perforated, as at 21, and provided with circular grooves 22 in their inner faces and concentrically surrounding said perforations. Companion disks 23 are provided with central bosses 2e and circulanribs 25, respectively engaging perforations 21 and grooves 22, and are secured reliably to hinge-disks 20 by means of washers 26 and screw-bolts 27, extending through said Washers into said bosses. Disks 23 are provided with horizontal ribs 28, embracing the upper and lower edges of the frames 13, which frames are also riveted, as at 29, to said disks.

Riveted or otherwise secured to the lower ends of the swing-bars are castings 30, the same being pivoted on cross-rods 31, so as to constitute, in conjunction with the swingbars, bell-crank levers. These levers are connected longitudinally in pairs, and to facilitate connection and disconnection they are formed at their ends with hooks 32, to which the opposite ends of the connections in the form of retractile springs 33 are attached.

34 designates a seat of the type shown or of any other suitable or preferred construction, the same being mounted, preferably, on the pivot-rods 31, so as to maintain a horizontal position irrespective of the relation thereto of the swing-bars.

35 designates links which pivotally unite the standards or uprights 5 with the swingbars 18, said links having their ends bent inward at right angles to provide arms, which are preferably reduced diametrically (see Fig. 4) to form shoulders 36 and stems 37, the latter being screw-threaded. The stem at one end of each angle-arm extends inwardly through the upper end of the casting 6 and the standard 5, on which said casting is mounted, and is engaged at its threaded end by a nut 38, which serves by drawing the corresponding shoulder 36 tightly against the casting to at once secure the outer end of the link reliably to the casting and the latter to the standard, as shown most clearly in Fig. 4. The stem of the remaining or inner arm of each link extends through a casting 19 and the upper end of a swing-bar, a nut 39 engaging the threaded end of the stem and drawing the shoulder 36 against said casting to secure said parts reliably together, said parts being also bolted together, as at 40, to render the connection more secure. By the provision of these angle-arms at the ends of the links and the formation on said arms of the shoulders to bear against the castings a space is provided and maintained between the links and the swing-bars and standards sufficient to easily receive the hand of a child, and therefore eliminate all danger of its being caught or pinched by the moving swingbars.

The swing when inoperative occupies the position shown in full lines, Fig. l, with the standards and swing-bars vertical. When operative, however, the movement of the swing-bars is imparted through the medium of links 35 to the pivoted standards 5, said standards swinging first forwardly and then rearwardly of the position represented by full lines, the action being indicated by dotted lines in only one direction. It will also be noticed that the swing-bars extend at a greater angle from the perpendicular than the standards at all times except when inoperative, which is due to the fact that the links 35 oocupy a plane above the center of the space between the hinges uniting the frames with the standards and those which unite the frames with the swing-bars. The swing-bars therefore have a greater leverage than the standards, and as a result after the limit of movement in each direction is attained the seat starts on its return movement without outside assistance, though without such assistance theinitial part of each return movement is undesirably slow. For this reason I provide the retractile springs 33, which are tensioned by the increase of distance between lever-arms 30, (see dotted lines, Fig. 1,) and therefore tend to retract and give a decided impetus to the initial part of each return movement. In fact, said springs are gaged to such strength that the movement is made practically uniform throughout its entire length, because as the swing gains momentum on its return from each extreme of position the power applied by the spring is proportionately decreased by the shortening distance between its ends until as the swingbars attain their vertical position the retractive action of the spring ceases, the further movement retensioningit to obtain its retractiVe force after such limit of movement is reached. This alternate tensioning and relaxing of the spring continues as long as the swing operates.

From the foregoing it is obvious thatalow swing of this character can be used to excellent advantage within as well as out of doors and that it may be so diminutive that the occupants head may project clear above the frames 13, as there are no cross-bars above the seat to be in the way.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred construction, it is obvious that it is susceptible of various modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the in- Vention.

Having thus described I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A lawn or house swing, comprising standards pivoted at their lower ends, frames pivotally connecting said standards longitudinally in pairs, swing-bars pivotally suspended from said frames, a seat carried by said swing-bars, and one or more links pivotally connecting the swing-bars and standards between the planes of the points of connection of the frames with the standards and swingbars; said link or links having a shoulder or shoulders 36 to bear against the swing-bars to provide a space between the latter and the body portion of the link or links, substantially as described.

2. A lawn or house swing,comprising standards pivoted at their lower ends, frames pivotally connecting said standards longitudinally in pairs, swing-bars pivotally suspended from said frames, a seat carried by said swingbars, and one or more links pivotally conthe invention, what.

necting the swing 4 bars and standards between the planes of the points of connection of the frames with the standards and the swing-bars, said link or links having anglearms to engage the standards and swing-bars and provided with shoulders 36,to bear against said standards and swing-bars and provide a space between the same and the body portion of the links, substantially as described.

8. A lawn orhouse swing, comprising standards pivoted at their lower ends, frames pivotally connecting said standards longitudinally in pairs, swing-bars pivotally suspended from said frames, a seat carried by said swingbars, and one or more links pivotally connecting the swing -bars and standards between the planes of the points of connection of the frames with the standards and the swing-bars, said link or links having anglearms embodying threaded stems projecting inwardly through the standards and swingbars, and shoulders to bear against the outer sides of said parts, and nuts engaging the threaded portions of said stems, and bearing against the inner sides of the standards and swing-bars, substantially as described.

4. Alawn orhouseswing,comprisingstandards pivotally supported at their lower ends, and each provided at its upper end with a hinge-disk, a companion hinge-disk secured to the first-named disk, one of said disks having a circular boss and a rib concentrically surrounding the same, and the other a circular hole to receive the boss and a circular groove to receive the rib, longitudinal frames secured rigidly at the ends to the last-named disks, swing-bars pivotally connected to said frames and the standards, links pivotally connecting the standards and swing-bars between the planes of the points of connection of the frames with the standards and swingbars, and a seat carried by said swing-bars, substantially as described.

5. Alawn or house swing,comprising standards pivotally supported at-their lower ends, longitudinal frames pivotally connecting said standards, swing-bars pivoted to said frames above the point of connection of the latter and the standards, a link or links establishing a pivotal connection between the standards and the swing-bars between the planes of connection of the frames with the standards and the swing-bars, arms or levers projecting from the swing-bars,a retractile spring connecting said arms, and a seat carried by the swing-bars.

6. A lawn or house swing, comprising pivoted standards, frames pivotally connecting said standards longitudinally in pairs, a plurality of swing-bars pivotally depending from each frame, the pivotal connection being above that of the frames with the standards, arms or levers projecting from the swingbars toward the longitudinally-aimed swingbar, retractile springs hooked to the adjacent ends of said arms, cross-rods connecting the transversely-alined swing bars in pairs, a seat mounted on said rods, and arranged to maintain its horizontal position irrespective of the position assumed by the swing-bars, and links pivotally connecting the standards and the swing-bars between the plane of the connection of the frames with the standards and swing-bars, substan tially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

OLOF R. OLSON.

Witnesses:

H. C. RODGERS, G. Y. THORPE. 

